Terminal applicator

ABSTRACT

An automatic terminal applying machine including a pair of terminal applicators, a wire cutting and stripping assembly located between and in line with the applicators, a wire measuring unit, a wire feed assembly including a wire guide assembly to accurately align the wire in the cutting and stripping assembly, and a wire drag and discharge assembly for holding the wire during terminal application and discharging the wire from the assembly after terminal application to a collection trough or wire stacking device. The cycle of operation of each of the assemblies is controlled by a number of cams secured to a common drive shaft and controlled by a one revolution pin clutch. A clutch controlled loop assembly provides a loop in the wire to minimize drag movement of the wire guide tube.

United States Patent Gudmestad 51 June 27, 1972 [54] TERMINAL APPLICATOR[72] Inventor: Ragnar Gudmestad, West Allis, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Artos Engineering. Company, New Berlin,

Wis.

[22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 95,284

Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager Attomey-James E. Nilles [57] ABSTRACTAn automatic terminal applying machine including a pair of terminalapplicators, a wire cutting and stripping assembly located between andin line with the applicators, a wire measuring unit, a wire feedassembly including a wire guide assembly'to accurately align the wire inthe cutting and stripping assembly, and a wire drag and dischargeassembly for holding the wire during tenninal application anddischarging the wire from the assembly after terminal application to acollection trough or wire stacking device. The cycle of operation ofeach of the assemblies is controlled by a number of cams secured to acommon drive shaft and controlled by a one revolution pin clutch. Aclutch controlled loop assembly provides a loop in the wire to minimizedrag movement of the wire guide tube.

21 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures minimum m2 3.672.025

SHEET 30F 7 P'A'TENTEnJum m2 3, 672 025 sum u or 7 A 294 249 2277 M i Q9 Ill IIJFQ"! GIIIPIIHO l- I.

P'A'TENTEnJum I972 3,672,025

sum 7 [IF 1- TERMINAL APPLICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Automaticand semi-automatic machines for cutting, stripping and applyingterminals to the stripped ends of the cut length of wire are quite wellknown. These machines are highly sophisticated but are not capable ofapplying terminals to one or both ends of a piece of wire of any length.There are machines available for cutting, stripping and applying asingle terminal to one end of a piece of wire of limited length, such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,23 l ,961. There are also machines forapplying terminals to the stripped ends of two pieces of wire, see myco-pending application filed June 15, 1970 and entitled ConveyorTransfer Unit as Ser. No. 46,391. Both of these machines have beenhighly successful in their limited fields of use but do not have theversatility required to meet the entire need of the industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 3,425,129, issued on Feb. 4, 1969, can be usedto control thelength of wire fed to the terminal applicators. The wireis accurately aligned with the cutting and stripping assembly and theterminal applicators by a guide tube assembly which includes a tube thatextends through the terminal applicators. The wire is cut and the endsstripped by pulling the wire through the stripping blades into alignmentwith the terminal applicators. This is one of the important features ofthe invention because the wires are pulled rather than pushed intoalignment with the terminal applicators thereby reducing the possibilityof misalignment. The pulling motion removes any slack in the wire andassures very good accuracy in locating the wire in the terminal.

Another important feature of the present invention is the provision of aslack loop in the wire at the appropriate time in the cycle of operationof the machine. Slack is automatically provided in the wire by a wireloop assembly provided in the wire feed assembly. This loop in the wireeliminates any drag which might interfere with the motion of the guidetube assembly and eliminates any undue stress on the terminal at the endof the wire when the wire is pushed through the applicators. Thewithdrawing motion of the guide tube assembly is also interruptedmomentarily to eliminate the possibility of a loop occurring in the wirebetween the guide tube and stripping clamp which would have a tendencyto misalign the wire in the terminal applicators.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent when the followingdetailed description is read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the automatic wirecuttingand terminal applying apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view in elevation of the press frame for the terminalapplicators and cutting and stripping apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view in elevation of the press frame shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 2 showing the cam followers within thepress frame;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4 showing the lowertool holder cam cluster and linkage assembly;

FIG. 6 is a section view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4 showing thestripper cam cluster and linkage assembly;

FIG. 7 is a section view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 4 showing the cam andrack drive for the wire guide tube;

FIG. 8 is a side view in elevation showing the wire guide tube assemblyand the wire drive wheel apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a side view in elevation of the drive arrangement for the wiredrive wheel assemblies;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the wire drive apparatus and wire guide tube;

FIG. 11 is a section view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 8 showing the wireloop assembly drive clutch;

FIG. 12 is a section view in elevation of a portion of the press frameshowing the wire drag and discharge assembly;

FIG. 13 is a top view of the wire drag and discharge assembly;

FIG. 14 is an end view of the pin clutch release mechanism and the triprod for the drag and discharge assembly;

FIG. 15 is a top view of the pin clutch release mechanism;

FIG. 16 shows the timing cycle chart for the cam shaft; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the wiring diagram for the switches.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The apparatus 10 of the present inventionprovides a means for automatically applying electric terminals to one orboth ends of a piece of insulated wire 12 of any desired length. As seenin FIG. 1, this apparatus I0 generally includes a press frame or baseassembly 14 having a cutting and stripping apparatus l6 and terminalapplicators 18 and 20 located on each side of the cutting and strippingapparatus I6. The wire 12 is fed to the press frame 14 by means of awire feed assembly 15, as more particularly described hereinafter. Thelength of the wire 12 fed to the press frame 14 is controlled by meansof a wire measuring device 22 of the type as shown in U.S. Pat. No.3,425,129, issued Feb. 2, 1969, and entitled, Measuring Apparatus." Themeasuring device 22, as described in said patent, controls the length ofthe wire 12 by stopping the operation of the wire feeding apparatus 15after the preselected length of wire has passed through the measuringdevice 22. A complete cycle of operation of the apparatus 10 of thisinvention is initiated after the wire 12 is fed to the apparatus.

The Cutting and Stripping Apparatus The cutting and stripping apparatus16 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 is substantially similar in operation to thecutting and stripping apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,428, issuedon Feb. 13, I968. The present apparatus 16 includes an upper tool holderassembly 24 and a lower tool holder assembly 26, each mounted forreciprocal movement in jib guides 28 and 30 provided on the front of thepress frame 14. Each of the assemblies 24 and 26 includes upper andlower guide blocks 32 and a tool holder 34 for supporting wire severingblades 36 and insulation cutting and stripping blades 38. The toolholder assemblies 24 and 26 are moved toward each other simultaneouslyto cut the wire 12 and to strip the insulation at the ends of the wiresas is generally understood in the art.

In this regard, the upper tool holder assembly 24 is moved continuouslythrough a cutting cycle by means of an electric motor 40 which isconnected to a cam shaft 42 through a pin clutch 44. More particularly,the guide block 32 is connected to the cam shaft 42 by means of a link46 and a pin 48 which provides an eccentric connection to the cam shaft42. The cam shaft 42 is joumalled for rotation in bearings provided onthe press frame 14. A fly wheel 50 is connected to the pin clutch 44 andis driven by a belt 52 connected to the drive shaft of the motor 40. Theupper tool holder 24 is driven continuously through a complete cycle ineach revolution of the cam shaft 42 due to the eccentric location of thepin 48 on the cam shaft 42. The fly wheel 50 is rotated continuously bythe motor 40 and the pin clutch 44 actuated by means of a solenoid 45 todrive the cam shaft 42 through one revolution as described hereinafter.The upper dies for the terminal applicators l8 and 20 are carried on thetool holder assembly 24 as is generally understood in the art.

The lower tool holder assembly 26 is moved through a cutting cycle bymeans of a linkage assemblage 54 connected to the lower guide block 32and to a cam cluster 56 provided on the cam shaft 42. (FIGS. 2, 3 and5). Linkage assembly 54 includes a lever arm 58 pivotally connected tothe lower guide block 32 by a pin 60 and mounted for pivotal movement ona pivot shafi 62 which is joumalled for pivotal motion in a bearingblock 64. A lever arm 66 is connected to the shaft 62 and a link 68 isconnected to the lever arm 66 and to a bell crank 70 which is mountedfor pivotal movement on a pin 71.

Means are provided for producing positive mechanical movement of themotion of the tool holder assembly 26 to assure a clean cutting actionin cutting the wire 12. Such means is in the form of the cam cluster 56which includes a primary cam 72 and a conjugate cam 74. Bell crank 70includes a first cam follower 76 on one end which is positioned tofollow the cam 72, and a second cam follower 78 on the other end whichis positioned to follow the conjugate cam 74. The conjugate cam 74 isangularly offset from the primary cam 72 to provide equal and oppositemechanical forces to the bell crank 70. It should be apparent that thepivotal movement of the bell crank 70 will rotate the pivot shaft 62 tomove the tool holder 26 up and down in the guides 30. Since both theupper and lower tool holders 24 and 26, respectively, are operativelyconnected to the cam shaft 42, positive synchronization of the movementof the tool holders 24 and 26 is assured.

Stripping of the insulation from the cut ends of the wire 12 isaccomplished by means of clamp assemblies 80 which are mounted forsliding movement in slide plates 82 provided on the tool holderassemblies 24 and 26. Each of the clamp assemblies 80 includes a pair ofstripping clamps 84 mounted on the slide plates 82 and retained thereonby tabs 86 which are positioned within grooves 88 provided in the plates82. Each pair of stripping clamps 84 is connected to a key 90 which ispositioned in a groove 92 provided in the clamps 84 (FIG. 4). Each ofthe keys 90 is secured to a guide block 96 which is positioned in fixedguide plates 98 mounted on the frame 14. The stripping clamps 84 arethus free to move vertically with respect to the keys 90 and movelaterally with the key 90.

In this regard, the clamp assemblies 80 are moved toward and away fromthe cutting and stripping blades 38 by means of a stripper cam cluster100 (FIG. 6) and a linkage assembly 102. The cam cluster 100 includes aprimary cam 104 and a conjugate cam 106. The linkage assembly 102includes a bell crank 108 mounted for pivotal movement on the pin 71 andhaving a first cam roller 110 positioned to follow the periphery of thestripper cam 104 and a second cam roller 112 positioned to follow theperiphery of the conjugate cam 106. The bell crank 108 is connected by alink 114 to a bar 116 which is mounted for pivotal movement on a pivotpin 118. The motion of the bar 116 is transferred by connecting rods 119to lever arms 120 which are secured to pivot shafts 122. The pivotshafts 122 are pivotally mounted in bearing brackets 124 and areconnected to the guide blocks 96 by lever arms 126 and links 128. Thearrangement of the wire stripping linkage assembly 102 provides equalbut opposite motion to each of the guide blocks 96 to strip the endofthe severed wire 12 on each side of the cutting blade 34. The motionof the clamp assemblies 80 is synchronized with the motion of the toolholder assemblies 24 and 26 by the common connection to the cam shaft42.

The Wire Feed Assembly Referring to FIGS. 7 through 10, the wire 12 isfed to the press frame 14 by means of the feed assembly which isoperatively connected to the wire measuring device 22. The feed assembly15 includes a support plate or frame 132 and a pair of fixed shafts 134mounted in a parallel vertical relation on one side of the frame 132. Anupper wire drive assembly 136 and a lower wire drive assembly 138 aremounted for movement toward and away from each other on the shafts 134.The upper drive assembly 136 includes a support plate 140 having a pairof shafts 142 journalled for rotation in bearings provided in the plate140. The shafts 142 project through slots 146 in the frame 132 above thewire 12. A drive wheel 148 is secured to each of the shafts 142 and adrive pulley 150 is secured to the other end of each of the shafts 142.The lower drive assembly 138 also includes a support plate 152 and apair of shafts 154 journalled for rotation in bearings provided in theplates 152. The shafts 154 extend outward through slots 158 in the frame132 to a position below the wire 12. A drive wheel 160 is secured to theend of each of the shafts 154 and a drive pulley 162 is secured to theother end of each of the shafts 154. The drive pulleys 150 and 162 areconnected by a belt 168 to a drive pulley 164 on a drive shaft 165 andan idler pulley 166 on a shaft 167. The drive wheels 148 and 160 aredriven by means of a motor 170 connected by a belt 172 to a pulley 174mounted on the shaft 165 for the drive pulley 164.

The support plates 140 and 162 are moved toward and away from each otheron the shafts 134 by means of a pneumatic piston and cylinder assembly175 and a linkage assemblage 176 (FIG. 9). The linkage assemblage 176includes a swivel bar 180 secured to a pivot shaft 182 and a link 184connecting the bar 180 to the support plate 140 and a link 186connecting the bar 180 to the support plate 152. The shaft 182 ispivoted by means of the pneumatic cylinder assembly 175 which isconnected to the shaft 182 by an arm to provide equal and oppositemotion to the movement of the support plates 140 and 152. The drivewheels 148 and 160 are driven continuously by the motor 170 and the aircylinder assembly 175 is actuated by means of a solenoid valve 177 tomove the support plates 140 and 152 toward each other on the shafts 134so that the drive wheels 148 and 160 engage the wire 12. The drivewheels 148 and 160 will remain in the drive position until the measuringdevice 22 provides a signal to the air cylinder 175 to open the drivewheels. The movement of the lower drive assembly 138 is used to actuatea switch 165 to start the operation of the apparatus 10 as describedhereinafter.

The Wire Guide Tube Assembly Means are provided for precisely locatingthe wire 12 in alignment with the clamp assemblies 80 in the press frame14. In this regard, the wire 12 must be accurately located in the clampassemblies 80 and the terminal applicators 18 and 20 to assure accuracyin cutting and stripping the ends of the wires. Such means as seen inFIGS. 1, 8 and 10 is in the form of a guide tube assembly 190 which ismounted on the support frame 132. The assembly 190 includes a pair offixed bars 192 supported in a parallel spaced relation by brackets 194on the frame 132. Slide block 196 is mounted for reciprocal motion onthe bars 192. A guide tube 198 is secured to the slide block 196 bymeans of a support block 193 pivotally mounted on the slide block 196 bya pin 195. The guide tube 198 extends outward therefrom through a guideblock 197 which is mounted for vertical motion in a bracket 199 andbiased to the upper position by means of a spring. The guide tube 196 isaligned with the terminal applicators 18 and 20 and the clamp assemblies80 and is free to follow the motion of the clamp assembly. The wire 12is threaded through the guide tube 198.

Means are provided for moving the guide tube 198 into the press frame 14and for withdrawing the guide tube 198 from the press frame 14 when thewire 12 is to be cut. Such means is in the fonn of a cam 200 mounted ondrive shaft 42 and a rack and pinion drive assembly 202 as seen in FIGS.2, 7 and 8. In this regard, the slide block 196 is secured to a belt 204which is reeved around an idler pulley 206 mounted on plate 132 and adrive pulley 208 mounted on the press frame 14. The drive pulley 208 ismounted on a drive shaft 210 which is joumalled for rotation in thepress frame 14. The drive pulley is driven by means of the driveassembly 202 which includes a pinion gear 212 provided on the shaft 210and a rack 214 provided on a rack arm 216 which is connected to a leverarm 218 pivotally mounted on pin 71. A cam follower 220 is provided onthe lever arm 218 in a position to engage the periphery of cam 200. Thelever 218 is biased into engagement with the periphery of the cam 200 bymeans of a spring 222. The rack arm is held in engagement with the gear212 by means of a guide bracket 215 provided on the press frame 14. Thepivotal motion of the lever 218 in following the contour of the cam 200is transferred through the rack 214 and gear 212 to the belt 204. Theslide block 196 is used to actuate switches 205 and 207 provided at eachend of the lower bar 192. Each of these switches 205 and 207 is providedwith a knee so that they are actuated by the movement of the slide block196 in one direction only.

The Wire Loop Assembly Slack in the form of a loop (shown in FIGS. 1 and8) is provided in the wire 12 between the measuring device 22 and theguide tube assembly 190 to allow the guide tube 198 to move freely intothe press frame 14 by means of a loop assembly 232 provided on the frame132. The loop assembly 232 (FIGS. 8, 9 and 11) includes a pair of wiredrivewheels 234 mounted on shafts 235. The upper shaft 235 is mountedon. a link 233 which is pivotally mounted on the frame 132 and biaseddownward by means of a spring 231. The shafts are connected by gears 236and are driven by the motor 170 for the wire feed assembly 15. In thisregard, a conventional electrically actuated friction clutch 237 made byPrecision Instruments is provided on one of the shafts 235 and a pulley238 provided on the clutch 237. The pulley 238 is connected to the drivepulley 164 by a belt 240. The clutch 237 is actuated by means of theswitch 205 provided on the feed assembly to provide onethird of arevolution to the drive wheels 234 and approximately 3 inches of slackin the wire 12.

The wire 12 is held in line with the guide tube 198 in the feed assembly15 by means of a wire guide 223 provided on the upper bar 192. The guide223 includes a cylinder 224 mounted for sliding motion on the rod 192and an arm 226 extending radially outward from the cylinder. The leafspring 228 is mounted on the arm 226 to hold the wire in a fixedposition on the arm and in alignment with drive wheels 148 and 160.

Wire Drag and Discharge Assembly Means are provided for holding the wire12 in a fixed position on withdrawal of the guide tube 198 from thecutting and stripping assembly 16 and for discharging the cut length ofwire 12 from the apparatus 10 after the application of the electricterminals to the ends of the wire. Such means is in the form of a wiredrag and discharge assembly 245 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 12 and 13. Theassembly 245 includes an upper jaw 242 and a lower jaw 244 each mountedfor pivotal movement on pins 246 provided on a slide plate 248 which isretained for sliding movement in a channel block 249 by plates 247. Jaws242 and 244 are biased to an open position with respect to the wire 12by means of a spring 250 secured to pins 252 provided on each of thejaws 242 and 244. The jaws 242 and 2.44 are closed to engage the wire 12by means of a wedge 254 supported by a slide block 256 for slidingmovement in a slot 258 provided in the slide plate 248. The wedge 254 isbiased by a compression spring 260 into wedging engagement with the endof the jaws 242 and 244. The compression spring 260 has sufficient forceto pivot the jaws about pins 246 against the bias of spring 250 and intoengagement with the wire 12.

Means are provided to allow the jaws 242 and 244 to move downward withthe wire 12 during the cutting and stripping motion. Such means is inthe form of a support bracket 251 secured to the press frame 14. Thechannel block 249 is mounted for pivotal movement on the support bracket251 by means of a pin 253. The channel block 249 is biased clockwise(FIG. 12) by a balance spring 255 and is moved upward against the biasof the spring 255 by a spring 256 and a plunger 257 provided in bracket251.

The wire 12 is discharged from the apparatus 10 by moving the assembly245 outward to a position clear of the clamp assemblies 80, and byopening the jaws 242 and 244 to release the wire 12. The assembly 245 ismoved outward by means of a cam 262 secured to the cam shaft 42 and alinkage assembly 264 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this regard, thelinkage assembly 264 includes a first rocker arm 266 pivotally mountedon a pin 268 and having a cam follower 270 positioned to follow thecontour of cam 262. The other end of the rocker arm 262 is connected toa second rocker arm 272 by link 274. The second rocker arm 272 ismounted for pivotal movement on pin 275 and is connected by a link 276to a lever arm 278 which is secured to a shaft 280 joumalled forrotation in a bearing block 282. The motion of the shaft 280 istransferred to the slide 248 by a lever 284 and a link 286. The rockerarm 275 is biased by a spring 285 in a clockwise direction to assurethat the cam roller 270 follows the contour of the cam 262.

Means are provided for releasing the wire 12 from the jaws 242 and 244of the drag assembly 240 after the wire has been moved clear of theclamp assembly 80. Such means is in the form of a limit stop 290provided on the support plate 249 in a position to engage a shoulder 292provided on the slide block 256. Upon engagement of the shoulder 292with the stop 290, the wedge 254 will stop as the slide plate 248continues to move outward. As the ends of the jaws 242 and 244 move awayfrom the end of the wedge 254, the spring 250 will pivot the jaws to anopen position. The wire 12 will drop out of the jaws 242and 244. A wirecollecting trough or wire stacking device can be located in a positionto receive the wire from the clamp assembly 80. The slide 248 is thendrawn back into the press frame 14 to a position where the jaws 242 and244 can engage the next length of wire 12.

The jaws 242 and 244 are maintained in the open position until the wirehas been fed into the press frame by means of a latch 294 which isbiased by spring 296 into engagement with a notch 298 provided in thewedge 258. The latch 294 is pivotally mounted on a pin 300 on the sideplate and engages the notch 298 as the slide plate 248 is moved out ofthe press frame and the wedge 254 held in a fixed position by the limitstop 290.

The latch 294 is released to allow the wedge 254 to move forward toclose the jaws 242 and 244 on the wire 12 by means of a rod 302 which isconnected to the plunger 310 of the sole noid 45. In this regard (FIGS.12 and 14), the rod- 302 is mounted in a bracket 304 provided on thepress frame 14 in a position to engage the end of the latch 294. The rod302 is biased by a spring 306 upwardly into a hole 308 providedin theplunger 310 of the solenoid 45. When the solenoid is actuated toinitiate a cycle of motion of the cam shaft 42, the downward movement ofthe plunger 310 will push the rod 302 into engagement with the latch294. The latch will rotate about the pin 300 until it clears the notch298 allowing the spring 260 to push the wedge against the jaws 242 and244.

Drive Clutch for Press Frame The press frame 14 is driven through onerevolution or one cycle of motion by means of the pin clutch 44 whichconnects the flywheel 50 to the shaft 42. The operation of a pin clutchis generally understood and is fully described in my co-pendingapplication, Ser. No. 46,391, filed June 15, 1970, on a ConveyorTransfer Unit. The pin clutch 44 (FIGS. 14 and 15) is actuated by themovement of plunger 310 of solenoid 45. The solenoid 45 is connected bya link 312 to a release lever 314 pivotally mounted on pin 316. Thepivotal movement of the release lever 314 releases pin 315 for movementinto engagement with a gear plate on flywheel 50 as is generallyunderstood in the art. The pin clutch 44 will produce one cycle ofrevolution of the cam shaft 42 and then will be disengaged from theflywheel 50. A disc type friction brake 318 can be used to aid instopping the cam shaft 42 after one revolution.

The electric circuit (FIG. 17) for this apparatus includes the threemicro switches 165, 205, and 207, start switches 209 and 211, and thelimit switch 22a in the measuring device 22. Switch 209 is closed toestablish the automatic circuit for continuous operation of the system.The motors 40 and are normally energized before switch 209 is closed.Switch 211 is then momentarily closed to initiate the first cycle ofoperation and the cycles are repeated by the momentary closing of switch207. The switch 207 is normally open and connected to the double actingsolenoid valve 177 which controls the pneumatic cylinder assembly 175.Switch 207 is momentarily closed by the motion of the slide block 196 toclose the drive assembly 15 and feed wire to the press frame 14. Whenthe preset amount of wire 12 has been fed to the press frame 14, themeasuring unit 22 will close the limit switch 220 which is alsoconnected to the solenoid valve 177 to reverse the pneumatic cylinderassembly 175 and open the wire feed drive assembly 15. Switch 165 whichis connected to energize the solenoid 45 is closed by the final motionof the lower drive wheel assembly 138. Switch 205 is closed by thewithdrawal motion of the guide tube assembly 190 to actuate the clutch237 for the wire loop assembly 232. Switch 207 is closed on the returnmotion of the guide tube assembly 190 to actuate the pneumatic assembly175 and restart the cycle. If switch 209 is open, the switch 211 can beused to provide single cycles of operation.

Operation of the Apparatus 1n operation, the press frame 14 is stoppedwith the cam shaft 42 positioned at a point where the pin 48 for theupper tool holder assembly 24 is located at top dead center, as seen inFIG. 2. The guide tube assembly 190 is normally located at the right endof the frame 132, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 8. It should be noted that inthis position, the end of the guide tube 198 is positioned adjacent tothe jaws 242 and 244 of the drag assembly 245. The measuring device 22is set to the desired length of wire. The apparatus is started byclosing the switch 209 to set up the automatic circuit. Both theelectric motors 40 and 170 should be energized. Switch 211 is thenclosed to start the first cycle of operation. Cycles of operation arerepeated by the momentary closing of switch 207 by the movement of slideblock 196.

The air cylinder 175 is actuated by closing either switch 207 or 211 toclose the drive wheel assemblies 136 and 138 on the wire 12 to startfeeding wire through the guide tube 198 into the press frame. When thedesired length of wire 12 is fed through the guide tube 198, themeasuring device 22 will close switch 22a to reverse the pneumaticpiston and cylinder assembly 175 and open the drive wheel assemblies 136and 138. Feeding of wire 12 through the guide tube 198 will stop. Thelower drive wheel assembly 138 as it approaches the end of its downwardmovement will engage and close switch 165 which energizes the solenoid45 for the pin clutch 44 and drag assembly 245. The solenoid plunger 310of the solenoid 45 simultaneously actuates the pin clutch 44 and tripsthe drag assembly 245. The pin clutch is actuated by the motion ofplunger 310 which pulls the release lever 314 away from the clutchallowing the clutch pin 315 to engage the gear on the flywheel. The dragassembly 245 is tripped by the downward movement of the plunger 310which moves the trip rod 302 against the latch 294 to release the wedge254. The jaws 242 and 244 will close on the wire 12 holding the wire ina fixed position.

The cycle of operation of the various assemblies on the press frame 14is shown in FIG. 16. The actuation of each of the assemblies is referredto with respect to the angular amount of movement of the cam shaft 42.In this respect, it will be noted that the upper tool holder assembly 24moves continuously through a full cycle since it is connected to the camshaft 42 by the pin 48. The guide tube assembly 190 will start toretract from the drag assembly 245 after the shaft 42 has moved and willstop moving when the cam shaft 42 has moved through 80. One end of theguide tube 198 will then be adjacent the left hand clamp assembly 80 andthe other end in abutting engagement with the wire holding assembly 223on shaft 192. The lower tool holder assembly 26 willstart to move upwardafter the cam shaft has moved 60.

The clamp assemblies 80 will close on the wire 12 and at approximately90 of motion of the cam shaft 42, the wire 12 is cut by the cuttingblades 36. As the wire 12 is cut, the guide tube 198 will start to moveagain at 98 of movement of the cam shaft 42 and at 100 of movement ofthe cam shaft 42, the clamp assemblies will start to move outward tostrip the ends of the wire 12. The guide tube 198 moves outward anddownward with the clamp assemblies 80 to prevent the formation of a loopin the wire between the clamp assemblies 80 and the guide tube whichcould possibly cause the wire to be misaligned with the ten'ninalapplicator 18.

The lower tool holder assembly 26 starts to move downward after ofmotion of the cam shaft at the same rate as the downward motion of theupper tool holder assembly 24. The stripping motions of the clampassemblies 80 will continue until the cam shaft 42 has moved through Themotion of the guide tube 198 also is stopped at approximately 145 ofmotion of the cam shaft 42.

The wire terminals are crimped onto the stripped ends of the wire 12during the movement of the cam shaft 42 from 139 to The motion of theupper tool holder assembly 24 will reverse at 180 and start to move backupward to its original position. It should be noted that when guide tubeassembly reaches the left end of the rods 192, the slide block 196 willengage the switch 205, closing the circuit to the friction clutch 237 ofthe wire loop assembly 232. The clutch 237 will drive the wheels 234through approximately one-third of a revolution pulling approximately 3inches of slack into the wire 12 between the drive wheels 234 and theguide tube 198. As pointed out above, this slack is necessary since theforce provided for moving the guide tube assembly 190 is not suffcientto pull wire through the wire measuring device.

After the cam shaft 42 has moved through 250, the wire drag anddischarge assembly is moved outward to discharge the wire from theapparatus 10. The wire 12 is released after 300 and the drag assembly245 returned to the starting position in the press frame 14 with thejaws 242 and 244 biased to the open position. Stripping clamp assembly80 will start to return to their starting position when the cam shaft 42moves from 250 to 310.

The guide tube assembly 190 will start to advance into the press frame14 when the cam shaft 42 reaches 260 and will reach the end of itsmovement in the press frame 14 at approximately the same time as the camshaft reaches top dead center. If the apparatus is on automaticoperation, the slide block 196 will engage the switch 207 to initiate asecond cycle of operation of the apparatus 10.

I claim:

1. The combination of a wire cutting and stripping assembly, a terminalapplicator positioned on each side of said wire cutting and strippingassembly, means for feeding the wire to said cutting and strippingmeans, said means including a guide tube assembly for aligning the wirein the cutting and stripping assembly and means for pulling said wirethrough said wire cutting and stripping assembly into alignment withsaid terminal applicators.

2. The combination according to claim 1 including a wire measuring unitoperatively connected to control the operation of the wire feedingmeans.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said guide tube assemblycomprises a pair of support bars, a guide block mounted for reciprocalmotion on said support bars, a guide tube mounted on said guide block,the wire being fed through said guide tube, and means for moving saidguide block on said support bars to move the guide tube into saidcutting and stripping apparatus and withdrawing said guide tube fromsaid apparatus.

4. The combination according to claim 1 including means for providing aloop in the wire.

5. The combination according to claim 1 including means for holding saidwire in said cutting and stripping means on withdrawal of said guidetube from said frame.

6. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said feeding meansincludes a pair of fixed shafts, an upper and lower drive wheel assemblymounted for movement toward and away from each other on said shafts,said assemblies each including a pair of drive wheels positioned toengage said wire, and a pneumatic piston and cylinder assemblyoperatively connected to said assemblies for moving said drive wheelsinto engagement with said wire.

7; The combination according to claim 4 wherein said means for providinga loop in the wire includes a pair of drive wheels positioned to engagethe wire and means actuated by said guide tube assembly for driving saiddrive wheels.

8. An automatic wire cutting and terminal applying machine comprising awire cutting and stripping assembly,

an electric terminal applicator positioned on at least one side of saidwire cutting and stripping assembly,

a wire feed assembly positioned to feed wire into said wire cuttingassembly,

a selectively settable measuring unit operatively connected to controlsaid wire feed assembly and means for pulling the wire through said wirecutting and stripping assembly into alignment with said terminalapplicator.

9. The machine according to claim 8 including means for driving saidwire cutting and stripping assembly and said terminal applicatorsthrough a cycle of operation.

10. The machine according to claim 9 including means actuated by saidwire feed assembly for actuating said drive 11188118.

11. The machine according to claim 8 including a wire guide tubeassembly supported by said wire feed assembly and including a guide tubethrough which the wire is fed into said wire cutting and strippingassembly.

12. The machine according to claim-11 wherein said wire guide tubeassembly includes a pair of support bars, a guide block mounted forreciprocal motion on said support bars between an extended position anda withdrawal position, and means connected to said drive means formoving said guide block in timed relation to the motion of said wirecutting and stripping assembly and said terminal applicators.

13. The machine according to claim 12 including means for drawing a loopin the wire prior to moving said guide tube into said cutting andstripping assembly.

14. The machine according to claim 13 including means actuated by saidguide block on moving to the withdrawn position for actuating said loopdrawing means.

15. The machine according to claim 8 wherein said wire feed assemblyincludes a support plate, a pair of bars supported in a parallel spacedrelation adjacent said support plates, an upper and a lower drive wheelassembly mounted for reciprocal motion on said bars, each drive wheelassembly including a wire drive wheel positioned for movement intoengagement with said wire, and means for moving said drive wheelassemblies toward and away from each other.

16. The machine according to claim 15 including means for continuouslyrotating said drive wheels.

17. The machine according to claim 11 including means for holding thewire while said guide tube assembly is being withdrawn from said cuttingand stripping assembly.

18. An apparatus for feeding wire to a cutting and stripping assemblyhaving a terminal applicator located on each side, and wire pullingclamp assemblies on each side of said cutting and stripping assemblysaid apparatus comprising,

a frame,

a pair of shafts mounted in a parallel spaced relation on one side ofsaid frame,

an upper and a lower drive wheel assembly mounted on said shafts, eachof said drive wheel assemblies including a pair of drive wheelspositioned to engage the wire,

means for driving said wheels,

and means for moving said drive wheel assemblies toward each other tobring said wheels into operative engagement with said wire to feed wireto the clamp assemblies.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18 including a guide tube assemblymounted on said frame and including a guide tube through which said wireis threaded.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19 including means for moving saidguide tube into the cutting and stripping apparatus.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19 including means for moving saidwire to provide a slack loop next to said wheel guide tube assembly.

1. The combination of a wire cutting and stripping assembly, a terminalapplicator positioned on each side of said wire cutting and strippingassembly, means for feeding the wire to said cutting and strippingmeans, said means including a guide tube assembly for aligning the wirein the cutting and stripping assembly and means for pulling said wirethrough said wire cutting and stripping assembly into alignment withsaid terminal applicators.
 2. The combination according to claim 1including a wire measuring unit operatively connected to control theoperation of the wire feeding means.
 3. The combination according toclaim 1 wherein said guide tube assembly comprises a pair of supportbars, a guide block mounted for reciprocal motion on said support bars,a guide tube mounted on said guide block, the wire being fed throughsaid guide tube, and means for moving said guide block on said supportbars to move the guide tube into said cutting and stripping apparatusand withdrawing said guide tube from said apparatus.
 4. The combinationaccording to claim 1 including means for providing a loop in the wire.5. The combination according to claim 1 including means for holding saidwire in said cutting and stripping means on withdrawal of said guidetube from said frame.
 6. The combination according to claim 1 whereinsaid feeding means includes a pair of fixed shafts, an upper and lowerdrive wheel assembly mounted for movement toward and away from eachother on said shafts, said assemblies each including a pair of drivewheels positioned to engage said wire, and a pneumatic piston andcylinder assembly operatively connected to said assemblies for movingsaid drive wheels into engagement with said wire.
 7. The combinationaccording to claim 4 wherein said means for providing a loop in the wireincludes a pair of drive wheels positioned to engage the wire and meansactuated by said guide tube assembly for driving said drive wheels. 8.An automatic wire cutting and terminal applying machine comprising awire cutting and stripping assembly, an electric terminal applicatorpositioned on at least one side of said wire cutting and strippingassembly, a wire feed assembly positioned to feed wire into said wirecutting assembly, a selectively settable measuring unit operativelyconnected to control said wire feed assembly and means for pulling thewire through said wire cutting and stripping assembly into alignmentwith said terminal applicator.
 9. The machine according to claim 8including means for driving said wire cutting and stripping assembly andsaid terminal applicators through a cycle of operation.
 10. The machineaccording to claim 9 including means actuated by said wire feed assemblyfor actuating said drive means.
 11. The machine according to claim 8including a wire guide tube assembly supported by said wire feedassembly and including a guide tube through which the wire is fed intosaid wire cutting and stripping assembly.
 12. The machine according toclaim 11 wherein said wire guide tube assembly includes a pair ofsupport bars, a guide block mounted for reciprocal motion on saidsupport bars between an extended position and a withdrawal position, andmeans connected to said drive means for moving said guide block in timedrelation to the motion of said wire cutting and stripping assembly andsaid terminal applicators.
 13. The machine according to claim 12including means for drawing a loop in the wire prior to moving saidguide tube into said cutting and stripping assembly.
 14. The machineaccording to claim 13 including means actuated by said guide block onmoving to the withdrawn position for actuating said loop drawing means.15. The machine according to claim 8 wherein said wire feed assemblyincludes a support plate, a pair of bars supported in a parallel spacedrelation adjacent said support plates, an upper and a lower drive wheelassembly mounted for reciprocal motion on said bars, each drive wheelassembly including a wire drive wheel positioned for movement intoengagement with said wire, and means for moving said drive wheelassemblies toward and away from each other.
 16. The machine according toclaim 15 including means for continuously rotating said drive wheels.17. The machine according to claim 11 including means for holding thewire while said guide tube assembly is being withdrawn from said cuttingand stripping assembly.
 18. An apparatus for feeding wire to a cuttingand stripping assembly having a terminal applicator located on eachside, and wire pulling clamp assemblies on each side of said cutting andstripping assembly said apparatus comprising, a frame, a pair of shaftsmounted in a parallel spaced relation on one side of said frame, anupper and a lower drive wheel assembly mounted on said shafts, each ofsaid drive wheel assemblies including a pair of drive wheels positionedto engage the wire, means for driving said wheels, and means for movingsaid drive wheel assemblies toward each other to bring said wheels intooperative engagement with said wire to feed wire to the clampassemblies.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 18 including a guidetube assembly mounted on said frame and including a guide tube throughwhich said wire is threaded.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 19including means for moving said guide tube into the cutting andstripping apparatus.
 21. The apparatus according to claim 19 includingmeans for moving said wire to provide a slack loop next to said wheelguide tube assembly.